Chelsea coach Rui Faria is held back by Jose Mourinho (Picture: Getty Images)

Chelsea are once again relying on other results going their way if they’re to finish top of the Premier League at the end of the season after losing 2-1 to Sunderland.

The loss was the first that Jose Mourinho has ever suffered at Stamford Bridge and emotions ran high in West London as Rui Faria attempted to confront referee Mike Dean. Mourinho also made a number of controversial comments which implied that officials were knowingly influencing the title race – the amount of penalties and decisions that have gone Liverpool’s way in recent months has not gone unnoticed.

Cesar Azpilicueta was judged to have brought Jozy Altidore down in the box when the Sunderland striker actually stepped onto the Spaniard’s leg as he attempted to put his body in the way of any forthcoming cross/shot but as bad as the officiating was, Chelsea’s performance on the pitch was much much worse.

This defeat only came as a shock because it was Mourinho’s first at home in the Premier League but his side has performed poorly against the division’s bottom clubs all season long, which will be the chief reason for them not finishing in first place as they’ve been great on the bigger stage.

With games running out and the destiny out of their own hands Mourinho may opt to put all of his eggs into the Champions League basket, but with the unpredictability of this season Chelsea have been ruled out only to find themselves back in contention several times already.

There is still plenty to play for as far as Chelsea are concerned, including the European semi-final against Atletico Madrid, but there are a number of players that have been bang out of form for several months and need to get their act together, as Ramires, Oscar, Branislav Ivanovic and Fernando Torres have barely contributed during this time.